Easy Rider: Beijing's Next Generation of Sharebikes Rolls Up

Living in the world capital of shared bikes gives us a unique viewpoint over the battlefield where companies fight tooth and nail to get their share of Beijing's butts. Things have gotten ugly since these bikes first hit the scene, but we’ve learned some important lessons. Here’s our special communiqué on the state of the cycle wars as they currently (kick)stand.

The yellow bike is dead, long live the yellow bike

Ofo was one of the first-ever privately owned bike-sharing companies. Founded by five members of a Peking University cycling club in 2014, the company initially targeted tourists, but soon found that the service was also very attractive to local commuters, which in turn attracted huge amounts of investment, allowing the company to expand internationally. The money was never enough, however, to overcome high operating costs and the unending influx of smaller competitors. In 2018, the bikes were pulled from almost every international market, and by 2019 the company was virtually defunct, leaving many angry riders without recourse to recover their deposits.

Its primary rival, Mobike, took a wiser path and eliminated deposits altogether in the summer of 2018, just as Ofo was floundering. With a dearth of yellow on the road, Mobike is now dancing on the grave of Ofo, rebranding as Meituan Bike (pictured above), and painting many of its new bikes yellow instead of the former signature orangey-red. The new bike's lighter design is a significant improvement over their previous models, although they do require users to open the Meituan app to unlock them. (Note that if you have a Chinese-brand phone, there is a good chance that Meituan came pre-installed.)

Another major difference is in the chain. Mobike has a history of experimenting with non-traditional propulsion, including an unpopular chainless design that irked users with its slowness. The Meituan bike features a low gear ratio – the diameter of its front gear is only about half an inch more than the rear gear. The result is a bike that handles great and is easy to pedal, with only a modest sacrifice of speed.

The hand of Didi guides the way

It’s no secret that Didi Chuxing, with its bottomless pit of capital, has long had its eye on the shared bike market. The ridesharing company once nearly bought out Ofo, but eventually declined. Instead, it bailed out Bluegogo after the Tianjin-based company underwent its own deposit woes following a “prank” regarding a certain famous square. Didi attempted to restore faith in the consumer company by offering rideshare coupons for the equivalent value of the deposit. 

You can still see heavy Bluegogos cruising around town, but Didi wasn’t satisfied with partial ownership of the revived company. After all, the whole point is to get users to open the Didi app, so they launched their own line of bikes called Qingju that tout deposit-free riding when you unlock them through the ride-hailing app. 

Except for the color and more traditionally sized gears, Qingju bikes bear a strong resemblance to the Meituan bikes. Indeed, it seems a consensus has emerged that consumers prefer no top bar connecting the handlebars to the seat and a lever system for easy seat adjustment. 

The fight for supremacy in Beijing’s bike scene is hardly over, though. With a low barrier for entry, sometimes it seems like everyone and their mother is having a shot at the market, leaving even the big names vulnerable to usurpers. We're happy to report that the designs are gradually improving, however, only time will tell if the longevity of the bikes follows suit.

READ: Documentary Featuring Ofo CEO Dai Wei Flops at the Box Office

Images: The Paper, Chinadaily, Caixin